An Origin Story

Tales of the Shattered Sword

by

P. Thomas Ramirez


The Kind God, The Curious Goddess and The Lord of Fire and Stone: An Origin Story

There was once a goddess who was curious. There was also once a god who, in his kindness, indulged her wishes. Together, they wandered the heavens in search of things new and novel. At one particular time, their wanderings led them to cross paths with another god, one that lorded over fire and stone.
This god was grizzled with burns and scars. Alone, he toiled upon a great forge, crafting objects glorious and beautiful torn from the skin of his own flesh. The Lord of Fire and Stone suffered much but reveled in his work. When the Kind God and the Curious Goddess greeted him, they were met with enthusiasm and hospitality. The three shared tea and exchanged stories of travel and anecdotes of art and craft.
Their meeting done, the Kind God and the Curious Goddess parted from the Lord of Fire and Stone, but not before gifting the Kind god with his masterpiece, a great sword forged from one of his bones. The two accepted it graciously and left.
Eons had passed and the pair's wanderlust continued. Seeking to please his companion, the Kind God left her side to reach for an especially bright star and gift it to her. When he had returned with the prize, she had disappeared. The Kind God scoured the heavens seeking her. Loneliness and worry chaffed at his soul. Many more ages passed until at last he returned to the Lord of Fire and Stone to seek company and hopefully his guidance in the whereabouts of the Goddess.
And there The Kind God found her at the side of the god smith. She was heavy with child and happy with him. Her contentedness enraged the one who had for so long kept her company and been so kind to her. The Kind God took up the sword given him by the Lord of Fire and Stone and attacked her. The once-curious Goddess who had found her bliss, was struck from shoulder to belly. She fell from the sky dying as her womb spilled open. Blood and fluid rained forth. Her body crashed to the world below. The child within was lost.
The Kind God witnessed the deed wrought by his own making and was driven mad. His screams became the wind of storms. Ashamed and grief-stricken, he tore out his own eyes and hurled them across heavens. Last, the Mad God threw down his blood-drenched sword and fled the scene. The blade shattered as it collided with the world beneath.
Horrified by what had taken place, The Lord of Fire and Stone rushed down to the world beneath and was nearly felled himself by the grief that consumed even the goddess' killer. Before he could tear out his own eyes,  The Lord of Fire took a calming breath and gazed upon the aftermath once more. There again he saw death. His wife was dead. His child was gone. And it was all at the hands of his own broken creation. But he also saw life. The fluid of her womb had turned to oceans, teeming with life of its own, born from the mixture of her blood. Everywhere her essence spilled and caked, new and curious creatures had taken form. Even the Mad God's left eye provided warmth and light to the things below. The Lord of Fire and Stone considered burning her corpse and reforging his masterpiece anew but he did not treasure old things. In her honor and in his own kindness, he let it be.